A Hero's True Strength
by The Warmongers of Simora
Summary: More than once, Saitama has been able to heavily influence both heroes and villains, not with his impressive strength, but with his surprising wisdom. His words have the potential to be just as powerful as his punches, but the question remains: How would the story turn out if he used his words more often? How would a more vocal Saitama affect the heroes and villains he encounters?
1. A wrong approach?

**A Hero's True Strength Chapter 1**

Heroes are people who are held in incredibly high regard. They're praised as saviours, treated like celebrities, and act as wannabe role models for people across the globe. And for the most part, this isn't undeserved. A lot of heroes are saviours, defeating monsters and stopping horrors using nothing but their own strength; be it some earth-shattering power or the strength of their own back.

But so often, many people, heroes included, tend to forget that heroes aren't just people who punch monsters in the face. Sometimes, a hero is just someone who is doing their best to help, even if they have to do it alone. And that doesn't always mean in a fight. On occasion, to those who are willing to listen, it includes saying just the right thing to change their mind. To sway their course from doing something evil or irreversible, and turning them back to the side of good.

Sometimes, it's just about being a good person.

Though its not easy. Not everyone can be convinced with a few well-meant words to change their course completely. Hell, not everyone wants to bother to even listen. Though again, that's part of being a hero. A hero won't always be met with success, sometimes they'll find some obstacles that are too difficult to overcome. And that's ok.

What makes a true hero isn't that they always win, its that they always try. Always try to help, always try to protect, always do their best; even if their best isn't enough. Someone who _can_ overcome an obstacle to ease but only does so on occasion, is much less of a hero than someone who _can't_, despite their best intentions, easily overcome the same obstacle, but tries to anyway.

And even the strongest hero to ever exist can struggle with this. Though that doesn't mean he won't try.

* * *

**A wrong approach?**

It was another boring day in City U, and everything seemed normal. The sky was a vibrant blue, with not a cloud in sight to impede the sun's rays. People were going about their day with no indication of anything being out of the ordinary, going to work, or school, or wherever they needed to go.

Suddenly, an explosion went off, shaking the earth and sending people into a panic. At the centre of the explosion, a figure stood, surveying the area around them for a moment before leaping up into the air. Charging up multiple orbs of energy, they fired them off into the distance, each one crashing into different skyscrapers and exploding with enough force to shatter the glass of the buildings around them.

Landing back on the ground, the creature, a purple humanoid, with large antenna dangling from its forehead and covered in well-defined muscle, smiled a toothy smile, showing off its array of sharp teeth.

Vaccine Man had arrived.

Meanwhile, in City Z, a news story covering the events happening in City U was being played on the TV sets in one of the apartments, with the owner of the apartment lazily listening in while resting on their futon.

The news reader was reporting the events with a heavy sense of panic evident in their tone, detailing how the destruction was becoming more and more widespread, and that the Hero Association was trying to best to respond accordingly.

But that went over the head of the bald listening, who only registered two important details: there was a monster, and it was attacking a city.

And that was all he needed to know.

"Guess I'll go."

And with that, he slowly got to his feet, and walked to the hanger where his uniform was hanging near the door.

He had work to do.

Back in City U, Vaccine Man was now wandering the destroyed section of the city that he had just levelled, stalking it like a predator in a prey's natural habitat.

His attention was caught by the sound of a crying child, only broken up by the child briefly stopping to cry out for her parents, who were either dead or separated from the child, leaving them alone.

Alone, with Vaccine Man.

Vaccine Man turned toward the young girl, holding his arm out toward the child. After a few seconds, his arms began to swell and grow, becoming monstrously large and beastly, so much so that each finger was taller than the child was.

He then reached out toward the child, his open hand creeping around the unaware child, before clamping shut. But instead of the squelch of the child being crushed to a pulp, all he got was the sound of a high-speed gust of wind, leaving the creature with an empty palm and no idea where the child had gone.

Though he wasn't kept in the dark for long, as he sensed two lifeforms to his right, causing him to gaze to his right.

There, with the child cradled unconscious in their arms, was someone in a bright yellow jump suit, with red boots and gloves, a black belt, and a fluttering white cape.

A hero.

"You're a fast one. Who are you?" The creature asked, genuinely curious to find out who this speedy little human was before he slaughtered him.

The human simply smirked, before turning around and crossing their arms.

"Just a guy who's a hero for fun."

Vaccine Man was appalled. That was it? That was all he had to say? Vaccine Man had already dealt with a few heroes already who he had cast aside as if they were ants, and even they had more interesting and worthwhile backstories than this guy.

For fun? FOR FUN? How dare he!

Vaccine Man soon found himself ranting before he could even think about it, regaling the story of his creation to this annoyance of a hero as he began to trigger his transformation. He began to distort and warp his body, becoming larger and more monstrous, all the while sharing his motivation for existing, his one and only goal: to protect Mother Earth from the destructive nature of humanity.

As he continued in his rant, the hero remained mostly stoic, save for a minor frown that gave his bald head some semblance of seriousness, as he looked almost ridiculous without the expression. Just before Vaccine Man could strike, and even before he could finish his rant, he was interrupted.

"If your main goal is to help Earth, why are you destroying cities?"

Vaccine Man stopped in his tracks, shocked into stillness by the comment. His hulking form towered over the hero, and with nothing but a single swipe, Vaccine Man was confident he could wipe this hero off the face of the Earth's beautiful crust.

But yet, a part of him was curious.

"**What do you mean?" **He boomed; his tone now just as monstrous as the rest of him.

"Well," the hero continued, scratching the side of his head as he spoke, "if you want to help Earth by destroying human stuff that's hurting it, why start here? I mean, I know humans aren't that great, especially when it comes to pollution. But isn't there better things you can do to help than this?"

Vaccine Man was stumped by this, which wasn't noted by the human who carried on absent-mindedly.

"Like, take this little girl. She's about eight or something, right? How much damage to the Earth is she doing? What's the worst thing she could have done in her life? Not separate her rubbish into the correct recycling bins? Is that something really worth a death sentence?"

Vaccine Man growled at this, pointing an accusatory finger at the girl.

"**She is just another cog of the machine that destroys the Earth! She will do nothing in her life save for living off the Earth's bountiful lifeforce, like a leech!"**

The hero blinked at this, looking to the side before turning back to Vaccine Man.

"Don't all animals do that? Isn't that how things work? Animals eat stuff that grows from the Earth, and when they die their body contributes to the Earth in return. You know, the Circle of Life? Or has Lion King lied to me?"

Vaccine Man went to rebuttal, but found he actually had nothing to say back to that. The idiot had a point. So, he decided to move on to another point, one this time that couldn't be argued against.

"**But what of the pollution given off by your species? Earth suffers because of it, and if I do not act in her stead, she will eventually die!"**

Saitama nodded at this, before shrugging his shoulders.

"I mean, yeah, we're pretty bad at that. That's true. But that doesn't mean we can't be better. But anyway, you're ignoring what I asked earlier: why start here? I mean, if you were blowing up a factory or something that was giving out loads of pollution, that'd make sense. But here? A random city. Seems like you're either wasting your time or are just being an idiot."

A silence filled the space, with Vaccine Man standing there with his mouth agape. And the hero didn't stop there.

"And even if you did blow it up, that'd probably do more damage to the Earth. Seems kinda counterproductive. You could probably do more good overall by just campaigning against pollution than just blowing up those who do pollute. Would probably work out better overall for everyone."

The hero shrugged, clearly not overly invested or interested in the points they were making before they clenched a fist and looked Vaccine Man directly in the eye.

"So, are we going to fight or what?"

Vaccine Man stared at the hero in shock, as he stood there ready to fight. But the fight had left Vaccine Man, his body now shrinking back to his regular size. With an impassive gaze, he looked at the bald hero, observing him for a moment before turning away.

"No, we are not. You have given me much to think about, and I wish to contemplate them fully before acting. Out of curiosity, what is you name human?"

The hero seemed shocked by this but shrugged and responded accordingly.

"Oh. It's Saitama."

And with that, the hero walked away, grabbing the unconscious girl and leaping away, presumably to somewhere she could get healed. Leaving Vaccine Man alone.

"Saitama." He repeated, testing the name out for himself. "We will meet again once I have contemplated your words. Be they wise or the drabbles of a moron, I will find you. And you best hope there's some wisdom there, or else our next meeting will be the last event you ever experience."

He then lept into the air, launching himself toward a large forest in the distance. He had much to think about, and he would need the wisdom of Mother Earth.

Who'd have thought that a human of all creatures would make him doubt his purpose.


	2. A revelation

**A Hero's True Strength Chapter 2**

There was nothing truly more beautiful than the undisturbed image of nature at its most natural state.

Or at least, that was what Vaccine Man thought as he sat in the middle of a forest, enjoying the sounds around him as he meditated, deep in thought over his last encounter.

The words of the bald man, the one who was a self-proclaimed 'Hero for fun', were sitting heavy on his mind, the underlying logic present in them being the prime focus.

Why _was_ he being instructed to destroy humanity indiscriminately? Why was this the path he was walking down, with no alternative or diversion in sight? And was this truly the best outcome?

He didn't know, and that was deeply troubling him. He had been sent on a mission by Mother Earth herself to stop the destructive tendencies of humanity, before they damaged the Earth in an irreparable way. That was the reason he had been created, his sole purpose and the reason behind his strength.

So why couldn't he shake these words?

Looking around, Vaccine Man allowed himself to be washed over by the sounds of nature, sounds he had grown to love in his short existence. The chirps of birds which flew overhead, the rustling of leaves being disturbed by the gentle breeze, and the various bleats, groans, and moans of the various wildlife that lived throughout the forest. All of them relatively simplistic and common, certainly not unique to this area at least, but all incredibly therapeutic.

Vaccine Man couldn't resist just closing his eyes and enjoying the peaceful serenity for a moment, slightly throwing his head back and breathing in some of the clean air that the forest provided.

The serenity almost completely swallowed Vaccine Man up, the words of the bald man slowly receding into the back of his mind and allowing him to briefly let go of the stress that the man's questions gave him.

Suddenly, a loud crash broke Vaccine Man out of his peaceful meditation, prompting the stress to return in full force, hitting him all at once, and causing his eyes to snap open.

A second crash sounded out, and this time it was followed by the sound of lots of thundering, and the snapping of branches and twigs as the thundering got louder. A few tense seconds passed, before a horde of varying forest dwelling animals burst through the shrubbery, stampeding past Vaccine Man as they ran with reckless abandon, not even slowing down to acknowledge or run from Vaccine Man, just sprinting past him like their lives depended on it.

Vaccine Man watched the stampede run pass; a confused frown etched onto his face. After a minute of animals passing him, Vaccine Man turned to face the origin of the sound that came before, just in time to hear yet another crash sound out.

With a growl, Vaccine Man pushed himself up, and he began travelling toward the sound, stalking toward it with an angry malice. As he paced toward the sound, more crashing sounds kept sounding out, getting louder and louder as Vaccine Man got closer. With each stint in-between the sounds, they got louder, and Vaccine Man got angrier and angrier as a sneaking suspicion began seeping into his mind, causing his powers to start pulsing angrily through his form.

Soon, he found the source of the sound, and his suspicion was proven correct, as he stood over the scene of a destructive and vile act.

Deforestation. There were men in machines currently bulldozing through several trees with not a care in the world, tearing down precious parts of the Earth's ecosystem as if their lives weren't dependent on it.

Rage built within Vaccine Man's heart, fiery malice flooding through him as a red haze washed over him, and murderous intent became present.

Raising his hand, Vaccine Man began charging up a ball of energy, making sure to keep it at a lower level than the ones he used against the city earlier, so that he didn't damage the surrounding forest. The bald man may have had him questioning his mission, but he was no hypocrite.

But before he could fire, someone beat him to it, a sharp rock being flung at one of the machines and bouncing off of it with a heavy clang. Intrigued, Vaccine Man turned his gaze toward where the rock came from and was met with an intriguing sight.

There, just further in the distance, behind an improvised barricade being enforced by men in high-vis jackets, was a crowd of angry people, all shouting and yelling at the men in the machines, with signs in their hands. On the signs were varying messages proclaiming that these men were evil, and that their presence here was unwelcome, and even a few saying that trees were more important than buildings.

Vaguely intrigued, Vaccine Man focused his hearing, trying to distil something useful from the various noises coming from the crowd. And what he heard was almost… comforting.

"Say no to the destruction of the forest, say yes to preservation!"

"Who needs a hotel in the middle of nowhere? We have cities and lodges! Destroying the Earth for corporate gain isn't worth it!"

"What kind of asshole thinks destroying nature for a holiday inn is worth it? Say no to corporate greed!"

Vaccine Man was oddly soothed by this and found himself circling back to the words of the bald man, and what he said about not _all_ humans being irredeemable. Here in front of him, was definitive proof that while some humans were truly guilty of the crimes that Vaccine Man himself had accused them of, and some who were trying to stop it, campaigning for the same thing that Vaccine Man believed in.

Maybe there was hope for humanity.

As Vaccine Man felt the energy orb begin to dissipate, a new voice, amplified by a megaphone, cut through the varying shouts with a much harsher tone.

"Alright ya tree hugging hippies, clear out! The boss has paid for this lot of land, and now he's paid us to clear it for his new hotel! Ain't nothing you can do to stop it! So, either clear out or be forced out!"

As he said this, a few men in riot gear stepped forward, batons and riot shields in hand, as they started bashing them against each other, only to be met by a wave of shouts and boos by the crowd.

Vaccine Man frowned at this, gritting his teeth together at this, before he stopped the dissipation of the energy orb. He instead focused it into a single one of his fingers, before pointing at one of the various bulldozers and diggers present.

With no hesitation, he fired a highly focused beam, bursting through the engine of the bulldozer with ease and killing the low humming instantly. The burst from the beam also had the added benefit of making both the workmen and the crowd go dead silent, the shock of the sudden attack silencing their dispute.

But Vaccine Man didn't dwell on this, not interesting in their reactions. Instead, he turned his wrath onto the rest of the machines, and with pinpoint precision, he disabled the engines of each and every vehicle present, working like a doctor with a scalpel.

Once he was done, he turned away and began walking back into the forest. He had done enough, as they wouldn't be able to do any more damage without their destructive machines to aid them. The forest was saved.

And Vaccine Man found himself viewing the words of the bald man in a new, more appreciative light.

"**Maybe he has a point." **He mumbled to himself, disappearing into the forest to further mull on that encounter.

* * *

Saitama sighed as he entered his home, wanting to feel frustrated but ultimately just feeling kinda tired. He had just had a few encounters with some monsters on the way home, both of which had him questioning his current situation, and his standing on being a hero.

He had started being a hero because it was what he wanted to do, and because he wanted to have more excitement in his life. The sensation that he had felt when he saved that big-chinned kid from that Crab monster… whose name Saitama could not remember, had been so overwhelming. The pulsing of blood in his veins and the thumping of his heart as he took laboured breaths after killing that monster was… indescribable. It made Saitama feel alive.

Now however, he couldn't really feel that emotion anymore. That satisfaction, that pleasure, the sheer **thrill **of battle; Saitama couldn't remember the last time he had felt like that.

In fact, Saitama was struggling to remember the last time he felt any emotion that strongly. He just felt empty, and even when he was in a fight with monsters, like the ones from earlier that day, he felt nothing. No joy, no fear, no adrenaline; just a craving for a challenge.

Though he couldn't help but find himself sparing a thought toward that first monster, the one he didn't fight. That had been a first. Normally most monsters don't really talk, they just ran around and destroyed stuff until Saitama showed up and punched them into oblivion. And even when they did talk, they usually didn't engage in conversation, usually prattling about how strong they were or how screwed Saitama was.

It was hard to remember anything precise, they all kinda blurred together.

But never had one really _spoken_ to Saitama, really engaged with him. And the fact that Saitama had managed to talk it down, talk it out of fighting. That was definitely different, and Saitama couldn't help but feel amused by it.

He had been annoyed at first, feeling cheated of a chance for a challenge. But after he had dropped the girl off at a hospital, Saitama found himself almost… appreciating the change of pace. He had actually talked his way out of a situation, and his words seemed to of had an effect.

Which was odd, since Saitama didn't think he was very good with words.

But as Saitama prepared dinner, he found himself smiling over this. It left a warm glow in his stomach, as it felt almost heroic in a sense, not just resorting straight to violence.

'Maybe I'll try using words again in the future,' Saitama thought as he sat down to eat, 'at least it'll be more interesting than winning all my fights with just one punch.'

* * *

At the edge of City Z, in the dead of night in the middle of a street, was a lone man walking silently by. His hands were deep in his pockets, and his face was shrouded by the hood of the jacket that they were wearing.

From just a glance, he seemed like just another person, a teenager out late at night; a sight some give a second, somewhat suspicious, glance, but only a cursorily one at best.

But as they say, appearances can be deceiving.

As the figure walked, they lifted their head up somewhat to look ahead, glancing at a fenced off part of the city, one that had been long abandoned by the population.

With the edge of the abandoned zone in sight, the teen tensed his legs up and, with a very minimal amount of effort, hopped over the eight-foot-tall fence with ease, landing back on the ground with the grace of a feline.

Now in the abandoned zone, and with no peering eyes to watch him, the teen pulled down his hood, revealing a set of silvery hair that spiked upward into two large prong like shapes, somehow not affected by the hood squishing it down. And looking forward with his yellow eyes, the teen smiled a toothy grin.

"This looks like a good place to set up shop. Time to find a place to crash for the night, and then tomorrow: the hunt begins."

* * *

Vaccine Man sat at the edge of a pond, staring at his own reflection intently, as he repeated the words that were spoken to him through his mind.

'Isn't there better things you can do to help than this?'

As it turns out, yes, there was. There were plenty of forces out there who caused mass destruction to the Earth, forces which Vaccine Man could easily stop. But he needed to target the right people going forward, and not condemn the innocent like he had been before.

But how would he be able to tell which was which?

'How much damage to the Earth is she doing?'

As it turns out, Vaccine Man didn't really know. He didn't know much about humans in general, or how they lived. He knew that their current lifestyle was somewhat destructive toward the Earth, but he didn't know in what way. Maybe the bald man was right, maybe the individual human didn't really do much, and that it wasn't fair to blame them for the destruction.

All he needed to do was figure out who was really to blame.

'Why start here?'

At first, Vaccine Man hadn't spared a thought to where he started. City U had simply been the city closest to his creation point, so he had started there. Maybe that was wrong on his part, the act of a mindless beast rather than a Chosen Champion of the Earth herself. If he was to truly campaign for her, then he needed to give his task more thought than that.

'You could probably do more good overall by just campaigning against pollution than just blowing up those who do pollute.'

With so much running through his mind, Vaccine Man found himself focusing on one thing linking these rampant thoughts together: The Hero for Fun.

Saitama.

If Vaccine Man was to determine the truth behind these words, he needed to return to their source, and find out more. If he could, then he could do more in the name of Mother Earth.

But as he stared at his own reflection, he found himself criticising his own appearance. In the water, staring back at him with sharp, aggressive eyes, was a monster. A creature of death and carnage, a unworthy look for someone representing something as kind and giving as the Earth.

And if he was to approach that hero again, he couldn't do so as a destroyer. He needed to be something else.

He needed a new form.

So, he sat down next to the lake, gazed at the sky, and began to pray under his breath.

"**Oh, great Mother Earth, guide me in this trying time. Help me to create a new form that will be appropriate for my new mission, so that I can best save you. One that will convey the beauty that you possess yet retain your mighty strength. May your wisdom bless me in this trying time, in your name."**

And with his prayer completed, he began to glow, his body slowly beginning to change under the pale light of the full moon.


	3. A different outcome

**A Hero's True Strength Chapter 3**

The early rays of the morning sun began shining on the unsuspecting apartment building, piercing the clouds and lighting up the abandoned city zone for another day. Birds began to wake up, chirping their songs and breaking the silence with a calm, but routine background noise.

Only to be interrupted by the sound of a loud crash born of frustration.

Saitama laid awake, staring at the ceiling blankly after smashing his alarm into the floor, and through the entire department building, disappointment flooding through him before disappearing just as quickly. His dream, his _amazing _dream, was now fading from his mind, leaving him feeling as empty as he normally did.

Though before he could lament on the boredom that was steadily creeping in, a small explosion boomed just outside the apartment, and was quickly followed by the sound of a shouting voice.

"The surface is ours humans! You surface dwellers must die!"

By this time, Saitama had managed to speed out of bed, glance out on the balcony to see the monster below, rush over to his uniform, change from his pyjamas into said uniform, make and eat a quick but light breakfast consisting of a banana and a glass of milk, brush his teeth, have a slight debate of whether or not to put on deodorant, forgoing said deodorant, before leaping out of the window and crashing into the ground with enough force to crush the path beneath him and send shockwaves that cracked the walls of the ground floor apartment.

"Alright, now bring it on!" He said, fists raised as he stared down at the Subterranean King. He had almost struck first, excitement almost consuming him, but he wanted to enjoy this. The fight would be so much more satisfying if the king was **expecting** the fight.

Or at least, that was what he thought would happen.

He wasn't expecting a look of horror to appear on all of the molemen's faces and for the king to drop to his knees, swords abandoned, and hands clasped together as he began rapidly spewing out apologies.

"I'm sorry, please don't hurt me Mr Hero Sir. I didn't mean to cause any trouble; I'm just trying to do what's best for my people. So please forgive my threats and don't kill me." He then began to break down into tears, with the other molemen beginning to surround their king while throwing out their own apologies toward Saitama.

Needless to say, the fight was taken right out of Saitama. He felt more pity than anything now.

That, and a little bit of embarrassment, as he stared at the small group of monsters who were practically begging for their survival.

"Could you guys stop? This is kinda embarrassing." Saitama said, while he quickly checked to make sure there was no one watching this… bizarre spectacle unfold. He didn't know how he'd handle it if there was a crowd of onlookers.

Fortunately, there were none.

The molemen stopped their pleading, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"So, you won't slaughter us?" One asked tentatively, causing Saitama to rub the back of his neck.

"I mean, if you were trying to take over the surface or whatever, then we'd fight. But if you don't wanna fight, I'd feel kinda bad just killing you. So if you promise to not cause any destruction or whatnot, then sure."

The molemen stared at Saitama for a moment, before they began cheering and celebrating, causing Saitama to jump from the jarring display.

"We live!"

"We survive another day!"

"We will always survive! Long live the molemen!"

While they were cheering and whooping for their minor victory, Saitama finally noticed how different these molemen were from the ones in his dreams.

They were tiny!

With the exception of the king, who was still slouched over on his knees, they were barely taller than children. As if they were imps. Even as they were jumping around all excitingly, bouncing and leaping in excitement, Saitama couldn't believe that he had dreamt of these guys as powerful fighters.

Saitama then frowned as he made a sudden realisation.

'How did I dream about these guys before they showed up? How did I make that comparison?"

But before he could dwell on that thought, his attention was drawn back toward the molemen, as their celebrations was suddenly cut short as their king stood up, coming to his full height as he looked down at Saitama.

And there was something about his look which bothered Saitama.

While he definitely didn't have a human like face, there were a few features that Saitama could make a slight comparison with a human's feature's; such as his eyes. Despite being like white ovals, like soft eggshells within a skull's eye sockets, they bore some kind of silent sombreness to them. Liquid was building up around the edges of the monsters' eyes, and he was staring at Saitama with a mix of anger and desperation.

And that just felt off to Saitama.

"Hey man, are you alright?" Saitama asked hesitantly, unsure of what response he might get.

"Alright? Am I alright?" The king asked quietly, fists clenching tightly as he muttered the words. "My people are at risk, doomed to die if nothing is done. We came to the surface to try and escape this fate. But yet again we are presenting with nothing but death. So now my people seem fated to be wiped out, and there is nothing that I, their king, can do to help them."

The king's four arms then began shaking, as anger began coursing through him.

"So no; **I AM NOT ALRIGHT!**" He yelled at Saitama, his raised voice sending his fellow molemen running and cowering, diving behind whatever solid object they could to shield themselves.

Saitama just blinked.

"Doomed to die? That's a bit dramatic, don't you think? I mean, what could the problem be?"

The king scowled, huffing in annoyance as he unclenched his fists.

"Of course a surface dweller wouldn't understand," he muttered to himself before he addressed Saitama directly. "My people are being threatened, by forces we are not strong enough to beat. I tried fighting back but was quickly overwhelmed. Now, we have to abandon our kingdom, our homeland that we have existed in for millennia, because the alternative is death."

Saitama tilted his head, scratching his chin at the king's words.

"You guys are being attacked?"

"Indeed. Monstrous creatures who carved through the stone walls that surrounded our kingdom, claiming our territory as their own. After they bested me, they gave me an ultimatum: evacuate within twenty-four hours or be eradicated. With no way to fight them, I began seeking out new land for us to migrate to. Leading to our _failed_ venture here."

Saitama nodded at this, as he slowly digested the king's words.

"So what you're saying is, is that you guys are being attacked by monsters? And that if they were to be dealt with, you guys wouldn't need to try to attack humans?"

The king gazed at Saitama skeptically, choosing his next words carefully.

"Correct." He started slowly, "If someone were to deal with them, my people would not be at threat and would not need to relocate. But there are none who can deal with them."

Saitama meanwhile, just nodded, palming his hand with his fist as he made a decision internally.

"Well, I can deal with them. So long as you promise to not cause any more problems for humans, I'll go beat those guys up."

The king stared at Saitama; disbelief written all over his face as he assessed the bald hero.

"Are you being serious?" He asked incredulously, to which Saitama just smiled.

"Of course. After all, I'm a hero. That's what heroes do."

A serious look then overtook Saitama, making his jaw more prominent and his gaze much more threatening, which sent a small wave of dread down the spine of the Subterranean King.

"Now show me where these monsters are."

* * *

The molemen took Saitama deep underground, through the tunnel they had forged to get to his apartment and through the Earth's crust. After about an hour of travelling, Saitama soon found himself in a massive underground city.

It was unlike anything Saitama had ever seen in the movies he had watched, as the city consisted of underground mountains in a dug-out cavern beneath the earth's crust. Each mountain was dotted with buildings which seemed to be carved into the very skin of the mountain, which then seemed to travel inward to make use of the ample space within each mountain's core. From a quick glance, Saitama could barely spot any real evidence of a civilisation living here, but it was incredibly apparent that there _was_ one here, and one that had been here for a long time.

But Saitama's attention was quickly drawn to a massive hole in the outside wall of the cavern, leading to a stretching tunnel which seemed to go back for miles. And while the molemen city seemed to blend in with the natural rock formation, the tunnel seemed manufactured, made of clean-cut corners and had a slight sheen to it.

And standing at the end of that tunnel, was a number of monsters.

The Subterranean king stepped through the entrance to the city, gazing upon quickly before turning his attention to the monster's tunnel.

"That's where they drilled into our city. There aren't many of them, but they're still a massive threat. Be wary of their leader especially, as he is the strongest of the bunch."

Saitama nodded, though in truth, he didn't really hear much of what he had actually said. All he processed was that these were the monsters he needed to beat. And they looked strong.

To this end, Saitama began powerwalking toward the monsters, with the small ensemble of molemen continuing to follow him. As he walked through the molemen city, past multiple groups of molemen who were seemingly preparing for evacuation, they began whispering. Some asking who he was, some asking if he was a surface dweller, and others wondering why he was storming toward the group of monsters.

By the time that Saitama had made his way to the group of monsters, he had dozens of molemen following him, all spearheaded by their king, who was grasping his swords tightly as the monsters, who were lazing about at the end of their tunnel, finally noticed their presence.

True to the Subterranean King's words, there weren't a great many of them. Roughly a dozen monsters were currently present, all of varying shapes and sizes. There were a trio of giant bird monsters, looking similar to crows. If crows had arms and a third leg that is.

Alongside them was an armoured swordsman, with long hair and a stringy beard that made him look much order than he likely was. His armour was jet black, and had a large number of spikes adorning it, and a jagged sword grasped tightly in hand.

There was another trio all hanging out near one wall, all jesting and pointing together at Saitama as he walked toward them, probably mocking his bald head.

A trend Saitama was not overly fond of.

Especially since the trio were a fairly odd-looking bunch themselves, with one looking like some kind of bug, one being covered in horns, and one even looking like a squid.

Another disgusting looking monster stood alongside them, looking like some kind of gooey sea creature. Its entire body looked slimly to the touch and had tentacles which hung limply as it walked slowly forward.

There were a few more monsters hanging back which Saitama couldn't quite see, as they were seemingly cowering from the small horde of molemen that had amassed behind Saitama. Or maybe they were getting their leader, who Saitama could now see slowly walking forward, with a murderous look in its eye.

To Saitama's eyes, it was an anthropomorphic cat, with large eyes that took up most of its face, and a large toothy grin adorning its face. Along with large ears and a striped tail, it had a light-coloured fur completely covering its body, and a collar with a bell that jingled with every step it took. As it stalked forward, it looked almost amused, eyes sparkling with some sadistic bemusement as he it began readying its claws.

"I knew you were weak," the cat man began, flexing its claws as it continued walking, "but I never thought you were this pitiful. To call upon a human to help you, now _that's_ shameful."

The cat man then began laughing manically, and was soon joined in by the other monsters, the sound causing the smaller molemen to cower.

The king's response was simple, as he brandished his swords and prepared to strike. Saitama simply stared. Which only made the monsters laugh harder.

"If you really want to fight alongside this hero, then fine. I'll grant you your dying wish. Tempest Brothers! Sword Devil Executioner! Kill these fools!"

The three odd looking monsters and the armoured swordsman, with a blood curdling battle cry, charged forward, sprinting toward Saitama and the Subterranean king. The king adjusted his grip on his swords, before he turned to Saitama.

"Let me deal with the swordsman, I might be able to take him. If you can deal with those three, we'll deal a major blow. But conserve your strength, because none of these compare to their leader. We'll need to work together to beat him."

But Saitama ignored him, walking forward and drawing his fist back. With a deadpan look, he began speaking.

"Consecutive Normal Punches."

Saitama then threw his fist forward faster than the eye could track, causing it to blur and distort. And even those with enhanced sight could just about see the outline of his fist, which had seemingly split into three and was now streaking through the air, each fist heading toward one of the three monsters.

Contact was made simultaneously, and with a trio of consecutive cracks, the monsters exploded in a shower of blood, splattering all over the other monsters who stared with horrified looks. As the bloody mist faded, all that remained was a few stains on the ground in front of the caped hero, who was still holding his steaming fist out with a mildly annoyed expression etched onto his face.

"Dammit." He muttered under his breath.

The Subterranean King stared, his grasp on his swords weakening to the point where he almost dropped them, unlike his opponent who actually dropped his sword, his entire body shaking in fear.

The cat man stared at Saitama with a look of shock, before a large grin broke out on his face.

"Well isn't this a surprise, a hero with some level of competence. I didn't think we'd get to see one of your kind showing yourself yet, but I suppose it doesn't matter."

He then began to flex his claws again, which began shimmering in the light as they grew longer, each now as big as Saitama's arms.

"I AM NYAN, OF THE MONSTER ASSOCIATION! AND I WILL NOW SLAUGHTER YOU, AND ANY OTHER HERO THAT DARES CROSS OUR PATH!"

He then leaped forward; arms flung back as he prepared to slash with his claws.

"FELINE RETRIBUTION!"

With this declaration, he began slashing with his claws, hacking and clawing at Saitama with immense speed. His claws became a blur, near impossible to see and leaving deep gashes in the ground around where Saitama stood.

The attack also sent several wind pressure blasts arching out, which cut through the surrounding buildings and rocks with ease. One arced toward the Subterranean King, who barely managed to roll out of the way of the attack. The other monsters, confident in their leader, simply began laughing.

But after a minute of slashing, the laughter began dying down, before it was cut short entirely by Nyan suddenly flying backward, crashing into one of the monsters and crushing it completely, leaving it dead as Nyan began pushing himself back on his feet.

Standing there, completely unscathed, with not so much as a rip in his uniform, and with his hand still outstretched from having done a flick, he stood there with a blank face.

And that enraged Nyan even more.

"Oh, you think you're BETTER THAN ME!" He roared, as he pushed himself back up, veins on his arm and face now throbbing in anger. Though Saitama, as usual, was unaffected.

"Look, I just wanted to say something before I started fighting back, since it sounds like there are more of you." He started, lowering his arm as he spoke. "These guys are staying here, that's that. It's their home, and I don't want to have to deal with them relocating. So whatever reason you've got for wanting them out, forget it."

Saitama then began frowning, and his face morphed into a more serious grimace.

"If you've got a problem with that, then you get punched."

The smaller monsters flinched at this, the temptation to run causing their legs to tense up. But they were halted by Nyan's blood curdling screech.

"**DIEEEEE!**" He roared uncontrollably, before leaping forward yet again, a crazed look in his eyes.

"**SUPER FELINE RETRIBUTION!**" He yelled, preparing to strike again.

But before he could so much as swing his claws, Saitama beat him to it, hitting him so hard that the entire cavern shook. His body was sent rocketing back through the tunnel, crashing into the ceiling and tearing through it before crashing into the ground in a massive plume of dirt, several miles back from the entrance.

"And let that be a warning to you." Saitama said before looking at the rest of the monsters. "Anyone else?"

The monsters stood motionless for about… two seconds. Before they broke out into a breakneck sprint down the tower, fleeing for their lives. Leaving Saitama and the molemen at the entrance.

Content with his work, Saitama turned around to the tunnel he walked down earlier and began walking toward it. But before he could get too far, he was halted by the Subterranean King.

"Wait!" He shouted; arm outstretched as Saitama stopped. "Who are you?"

"Me?" Saitama asked. "I'm just a Hero for fun."

* * *

By the time that Saitama got back to the surface, it was well past midday, with the sun now hanging high in the sky. As Saitama returned to his apartment, he began dusting his uniform off.

The time spent underground had been an… interesting experience. The molemen had made sure to express their gratitude, hounding him nonstop until he was way down the tunnel. The king had made some comment about finding a way to repay Saitama, but Saitama didn't really care.

Monster or not, he didn't help people for rewards.

But now, all Saitama cared about was getting some lunch in. Something simple, so as to not stretch his limited budget, but filling. Something with rice.

As he began rummaging through his cupboards, he was drawn from his brief scavenge attempt by a knock on his door. Drawing himself from his cupboards, he went to the door and threw it open, only to be shocked by who was standing at it.

Standing at the same height as Saitama, was a gown-wearing woman. The woman was seemingly human, or at least from a glance she did due to the veil that covered her face. But with a serious look, you could see that her skin had a faint purple tinting to it, and that she had two antenna that just barely jutted out. The gown itself was unlike anything that Saitama had ever seen, with the bottom part cut open to allow the legs free movement, and the tops were also sleeveless, which was what really gave away the woman's strange skin tone.

She stood there with a serious glint to her eye, staring dead at Saitama. For a moment, the two stood there in silence, not making a sound, until Saitama eventually interrupted it.

"Erm, can I help you?"

"Saitama," the woman interrupted, eliciting a brief "oh, ok" from Saitama. "We've met once before, and I said then that once I had contemplated your words, that I'd return. And here I am, coming to seek some semblance of understanding of your mind."

Saitama simply blinked, before beginning to scratch his chin.

"I was once Vaccine Man, an incarnation of nature's wrath. Now, I am Earth's Apostle, and I have come to understand you, Hero for Fun."


	4. Events put in motion

**A Hero's True Strength Chapter 4**

Saitama stared at the woman, their eyes at the same level, not saying a word. For a moment, Earth's Apostle thought that the hero was contemplating whether or not he was going to accept her offer, and she began debating what she would do should he turn her away.

Though that line of thought turned out to be a null point, as the bald hero simply shrugged, not a trace of emotion on his face.

"Ok. If that's what you want to do, then that's fine. I don't know what you expect to learn from me, but you're welcome to so long as you don't cause any destruction. Do you want some tea?"

Earth's Apostle stared in astonishment, though she absentmindedly followed him into the apartment.

Once inside, she was surprised to see that this hero, someone who must have been popular and well known amongst his species, lived in such modest accommodations. In her mind, humans enjoyed frivolous things, and tried to live in much larger dwellings then they needed or with much more than they required to survive, as most creatures in equilibrium with the Earth did.

But here this human lived in quite cramped conditions, the corridors almost being thin enough to feel claustrophobic to her, even with her more petite form she had adopted. And as she walked through the short hallway, she saw that this was common throughout the small apartment.

Near the end of the corridor there was a fork which led right, down which she could see two doors. Behind one door was what seemed to be a tiny bathroom, barely containing the basic bathtub, sink, and toiler with just enough room for someone to shuffle around the tightly enclosed space. Another door seemed to lead to a room filled with general clutter like clothing and everyday appliances, stuffed away in a room with the door closed over.

And finally, at the end of the corridor, was the main room of the apartment, the one that seemed the most lived in. It seemed to be a general common room area, with a small table in the centre of the room near a small television set. Next to it was a small futon, just barely big enough for a man of Saitama's size with a few layers of blankets thrown onto it.

Attached to the room was a tiny kitchen that was almost pitiful, so small that if you were to stand in the middle of the limited foot space, you'd be within reach of every useful appliance or utility available there. If a second person were to try and enter the kitchen, they'd have to fight for space.

A fact which was demonstrated when Saitama walked into the kitchen and began boiling a kettle, and almost banged into the fridge with his elbow as he filled it up.

"Did you want tea? You never answered." Saitama said suddenly, not once looking at her as he began digging through his cupboards, pulling out items like mugs and sugar as he spoke.

"I'll take a green tea if you have it, please." She asked, deciding to humour his hospitality. If she was to understand this man, she needed to see how he acted, and that wouldn't happen if she shut down every interaction toward her.

So once he acknowledged her request, she decided to sit herself down, looking around at the space where this 'Hero for Fun' lived.

It was very clearly lived in, with loose magazines scattered about on the table, with one open halfway, something he was probably reading not too long before she had arrived. But besides this small amount of clutter, the hero seemed to be living a clean existence, with no dirt or rubbish visible to her eye. His apartment seemed impressively clean, as a matter of fact.

She also noticed that there seemed to be a quaint balcony just beyond some sliding doors, where his hero uniform, the one he had worn with such confidence when he had stood against her, was currently drying.

While she kept looking around his apartment, Saitama placed a cup of tea in front of her, the soothing smell of the tea infused water drawing her attention back to the bald man who was now sitting down opposite her.

But before she could say anything, the bald man blurted out a question.

"So how do I know you again?"

She stared at him with a deadpan expression, unsure of whether or not he was joking. Though after a solid minute of him staring blankly at her, she realised that he really had no idea.

"We met yesterday," she started, speaking slowly in an attempt to prod his memory into working, "you confronted me when I was in the midst of exterminating your race. And you critiqued my methods, causing me to rethink my approach?"

Saitama stared at her for a moment, his expression completely vacant, as if he wasn't even listening. Before she could repeat herself though, he suddenly snapped his fingers, a small smile on his face.

"That's right, you were the big purple monster who was going on about humans destroying the Earth or something like that. I remember now… weren't you a guy?"

Earth's Apostle's eye twitched at this, before she took a sip of her tea.

"Technically I'm neither male or female, or agendered as I believe you humans refer to it. My forms simply take the shape most suited for the task I have at hand. My prior mission was purely to ensue destruction befell your species, so my form took on a more combat suitable appearance, which you saw yesterday."

"And now?" He asked, leaning forward out of curiosity.

"Now, I'm seeking to understand humanity, learn about its complexities and beliefs in an attempt to dissect how you think. Your words yesterday made me realise that humanity is a difficult beast to decipher, with my previous black and white viewpoint being inadequate for this. So I've chosen, after much thought and prayer to Mother Earth, to become a bystander for the time being. To observe humanity, to see it at its best and worst, and to use this to determine whether or not the species is saveable. And to this end, I'll be observing you especially."

Saitama blinked at this, tilting his head before scratching it, making a sound which sounded like he was rubbing a window with his fingers.

"Erm, why?" He asked, taking a long sip of his tea as he waited for a response.

"When you confronted me, I had never thought about anything other than your species' destruction. I had never considered that there was such a thing as an innocent human. There had only been the guilty. And it caught me off guard. So much so, I can no longer in good conscious continue on my mission. Not until I understand you, the one who brought this viewpoint to light."

After saying this, she stood up, pointing a finger accusingly at him with as serious a look as she could muster, though it didn't really faze Saitama.

"So to this end, I will be shadowing you: until I understand you and why you are the man you are!"

Saitama didn't react at first beyond a quick nod, but after a few seconds, his comically round face began to form definition, becoming more angular and intense looking as he stood up to look her in the eye.

"Fine, I will show you why I'm the hero you encountered. If that is what it takes to stop you from destroying humanity, then so be it." He said, clenching his fist in front of him.

"But I have one condition," he added, to which Earth's Apostle crossed her arms.

"Name it."

"Can I call you something other than Earth's Apostle? That's such a weird name and I can't be bothered to say it."

* * *

Sitch frowned as he read through a report of the recent attack on City U, scanning over the details with a critical eye. And he was confused with what he was reading.

The damage report was fairly standard, if rather depressing to look at. Dozens of blocks completely levelled, mass destruction, and several hundred civilians wounded or dead. That statistic still needed finalising as the medical staff finished going through the wreckage.

The hero injury report was a little surprising. Multiple heroes ranging from Class C to A were listed as having been incapacitated during the conflict. So this threat was truly something worth treating seriously, which led to the main issue he had with the report.

The threat had just vanished. Disappeared without a trace.

So far as this report illustrated, the monster had just stopped its rampage for no apparent reason and then left. No hero had claimed it's defeat, and the reports were suggesting that it left without further conflict, something which didn't make sense.

The possibility of it being a hero who had defeated it without trying to claim it was practically nil, simply due to how the current field of heroes operated. Such a powerful monster would certainly bump a hero up a couple of ranks, even in Class A.

The only heroes who _might _have not bothered with claiming this victory would be the high-ranking and well-respected S Class, but that explanation didn't pan out either. The closest S Class to the scene of combat had been King, the Strongest Man on Earth. But when asked about it, he had said he wasn't actually near the scene of combat but was instead in his home city training.

So with King not being responsible for this monster's defeat; who was?

Sitch rubbed his temples as he took a sip of his coffee, before a light rap on the door caught his attention. After briefly voicing his permission for them to enter, he was shocked to find a small child walking into the room, a ridiculously large backpack for his frame slung over his back.

Not that Sitch would ever say that to him, considering he was the Rank Five Class S hero known as Child Emperor. Not while he still had conscious control of his body.

The young boy walked into the room and placed himself quietly in the chair across from Sitch, all the while tapping away at one of his screens, most likely finalising a design for one of his robots which he uses in the field. After briefly scanning his screen over, Child Emperor finally brought his attention to Sitch.

"I hear you have a case of a disappearing monster?" He asked coyly, pulling out a lollipop as he spoke.

Sitch said nothing, knowing better than to give in to the childish behaviour. Child Emperor was incredibly talented and was practically a genius in every sense of the word, but he was still just a boy. A boy who had an immaturity streak and liked to flaunt his intelligence. It was much quicker to let him do his flaunting and get to the point in his own time, otherwise he would drag things out just to amuse himself.

"Would it be helpful at all if I said I may potentially have a lead on your missing monster?" He asked, trying to sound impressive, but Sitch remained stoic, keeping a level and impassive look on his face as he stared at the young hero. After a minute of silence, the boy groaned.

"Way to take all the fun out of it." He muttered, before he tapped his screen again and flicked at it, bringing up a projection of a map between himself and Sitch.

"When the first explosion went off, a spike in radiation became noticeable, even from my lab in City Y. It's mostly harmless, at least at it's current level, but I theorise that it could potentially be lethal if weaponised, a fact the monster may be unaware of."

Sitch stared at the infographic currently being played on the projection, which was spitting out readings on radiation levels and which types of radiation were most prominent, primarily gamma.

"Now, on its own, this wouldn't be a remarkable discovery. We've dealt with radiation spewing monsters before. However, this seems less like an ability, and more of a side effect of the creature's power, due to how the radiation only spiked during certain attacks. If it were deliberate, our injured heroes would be dealing with much worse than cuts and bruises."

He paused briefly to readjust the map, zooming out from City U to show a larger map coverage.

"But here's where it gets interesting. This radiation persisted after the attack ended, even though the monster was nowhere to be seen. Using this radiation, I was able to track it down and follow its movements after the conflict, though I wasn't able to do so accurately until a few hours ago, as I had to retune my equipment to trace that radiation signature. Which I did to the nearby forest area of City U, though now something peculiar happened: it changed."

Sitch finally broke from his stoicism, leaning forward with a raised eyebrow.

"What, like it just became something different? Evolved into a stronger form? We have had recorded instances of monsters having stacked transformations held back for combat. Maybe it reverted into a weaker form to conserve energy and recover."

"I thought so too at first," Child Emperor said, waving his lollipop as he stared at his own projection, "but then I looked at it's radiation levels. They started reading differently, turning from a potentially dangerous and lethal radiation to something more naturally occurring, the kind that helps improve the air quality in proximity to the monster. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it became environmentally friendly."

Sitch snorted at this, leaning back into his chair as he did.

"So, you're saying the monster turned over a new leaf or something? How would that work, monsters are creature's who've allowed evil to consume their minds and hearts. They don't just _change_." He said, the temptation to burst out laughing slowly bubbling to the surface. But Child Emperor, who was still fixated on his own readings, just shook his head.

"Maybe." He muttered, before Sitch sighed heavily.

"Any idea where it is now then?"

"Well, roughly I do. The creature seemed to stop emitting this new radiation level after entering the boundaries of City Z, disappearing from my trackers entirely. For whatever reason, it's gone into hiding. And it's currently residing in the abandoned area of City Z."

Sitch nodded at this, before he placed his hands together and pushed the report to the side.

"Thank you, Child Emperor, your contribution has been invaluable. I'll notify the Association and we'll deploy a competent team of heroes to investigate the area, and potentially subdue the threat."

Child Emperor raised an eyebrow questioning, running his tongue through his mouth as he mused to himself.

"And what if this team isn't enough to handle this monster? It did overpower several Class As after all."

"Then I'm sure Tatsumaki would enjoy the challenge."

* * *

In the midst of a ruined building, one destroyed by some unknown power that had long left the scene, there was a teen. A teen wearing baggy grey tracksuit bottoms and a skin-tight black shirt, which did nothing to hide the rippling muscles within.

Muscles which were now rolling, tensing, and untensing in sequence as the teen bopped on the spot, hopping on the spot and letting his limbs hang loose and to bounce around with his body: a common practice for the teen.

Something he always did before a hunt.

After letting his body loosen up to a sufficient degree, the teen finally stopped his warmup, ending it with a crack of his neck, getting a satisfying pop for his efforts.

With that done, the teen gave a large smirk, one which showed his teeth on full display, giving any who saw it a hint of what exactly his intentions were.

He began walking, leaving the ruined area and starting his long journey to his destination. He travelled beyond the ruined section of City Z, into the more populated areas of City Z. After walking around the City for a while, the teen jumped onto a train, taking him away from City Z and to a distant area.

After staying on the train for a good hour or so, during which the teen mainly meditated, taking deep breaths and ensuring that his body was ready for the coming fight, he got off and found himself in City J.

"This'll do." He muttered to himself, as he began walking the streets of City J.

He did this for around twenty minutes, spending the entire time looking around eagerly, eyes darting from left to right in search of a target. And soon he found one.

Further down the street, where a large crowd had amassed, was a spectacle of a fight between a hero and a monster. Pushing his way through the crowd, the teen was soon able to see the fight clearly.

It was between a cyborg and a monster which seemed to look like a car given life, towering above the human sized hero twofold, though the size different didn't seem to be helping it much. As the cyborg, with dark hair, a pair of sunglasses, boxing gloves on his hands, and a J emblem marked onto his chassis, was tearing the monster apart piece by piece. Each punch he threw tore off some plating and wiring from the mechanical monster, as he bobbed and weaved around its attacks with ease.

The fight didn't last for much longer, as the monster eventually dropped to its knees, giving the hero the perfect opportunity to finish the monster with a powerful right hook, sending blood and spare parts flying across the road.

The crowd cheered as the hero raised his fists above his head in victory, as they began chanting his name: "Jet Nice Guy! Jet Nice Guy!"

The teen listened to the chanting with mild amusement, before he clenched his knuckles with a grin.

"So that's the name of my first target. Good." And with that, he stepped forward.

The hero was still celebrating as the teen broke from the crowd, closing the distance before the hero eventually noticed him.

"Hey kid, how ya doing? I'm sorry, but no autographs today. I've got places to be." The hero started, before the teen punched him clean in the face, sending him flying across the open space, much to the horror of the crowd, who gasped in shocked as the hero smacked onto the ground.

"Oi!" The hero shouted as he pushed himself up, rubbing his nose as he did. "What the hell was that for?"

The teen just smiled, as his cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, that? That was because I found your showboat annoying. Though I guess I should introduce myself. The names Garou, though you can call me 'The Hero Hunter'. And you, _Hero_, are my prey!"

Garou then dropped into his stance, his fingers pinched together and pointing downward, as he waited for the hero to prepare himself.

With a quick spit of gob to clear his mouth, the hero raised his fists in response.

"Alright then, if that's how it is. If you want to pick a fight, then you can have one!"

And with a pounce, the hero launched forward, his mechanically upgraded body moving much faster than a normal human, closing the gap in less time than it took to blink, before he unleashed a flurry of jabs which seemed to blur as they shot forward.

But Garou was able to avoid them with ease, using only the most minimal of movements to avoid each jab. After a moment of just dodging them, he struck, throwing a single fist forward and cutting through the cyborg's defences and landing a clean hit on his body.

Jet Nice Guy coughed in pain, spit and blood coming from his mouth as the strike pushed him back, and he rubbed his torso with both arms. Before he could catch his breath, Garou struck again, hitting the bent over hero in the face with his knee and knocking him clean onto his back.

The crowd screamed in fear, and they began to scatter, leaving the two to their duel.

Though Garou could only laugh.

"You're no S Class, that's for sure. But then again, I wasn't expecting much from you anyway, _hero_." He boasted, while making sure to make the disdain in his voice grossly apparent when he said hero.

Jet Nice Guy pushed himself up, his legs shaking and blood pouring from his nose. His sunglasses, now shattered and wonky, fell off his face, allowing Garou to clearly see his panic filled eyes.

"You think I'm done? I'm just getting started!" He shouted, as his chassis began to click and whirl, as plates on his back began to shift aside, and revealing two jet boosters.

"Try this on for size: ULTIMATE JET STRAIGHT!" He roared, as the jets roared into life, launching the hero forward with twin trails of flame and smoke.

Garou's eyes widened, as he quickly raised both arms to his face to protect himself, barely able to block the attack as it crashed home.

The attack sent Garou flying back, his body parallel against the floor for several meters before he recovered, breaking into a roll which slowed his momentum, reducing his speed to a skid before coming to a halt.

Jet Nice Guy hadn't been idle though, instead going from throwing one powered up straight punch to another, throwing now with his other punch.

Though Garou just smirked.

"Predictable." He muttered, before he sidestepped left just as the strike was about to land, allowing the strike to streak pass him. With the attack passing by, Garou lept up with his knee, bringing it round in an arc which struck the hero in the side of the hide, throwing his momentum to the side, causing the hero to fly into a car, crushing it from the sheer force behind him momentum.

Now half embedded within the car, the hero was unable to defend himself from Garou's next strike, a fist to his abdomen, forcing him further into the car. The next few strikes happened all at once for the cybernetic hero, each one leaving dents and marks in his plated chest.

Garou threw one last strike, a downward stroke which severed the cyborg's right arm clean from his body, leaving it clatter uselessly onto the ground.

The sound seemed to signal something to the Hero Hunter, like the bell indicating the end of a round, and he stopped his assault, taking only a moment to admire his handiwork. And with a small smile, he nodded.

"Not bad. Definitely a decent warm up. But I'll have to do better next time."

With that said, he began walking away from the battered hero, who was breathing laboured breaths as Garou's shadow passed over him. Placing his hands in his pockets, Garou began planning his next move.

"Someone that weak must have been a B Class. Even the pitiful Association has better standards then that. For my next hunt, I should try and find an A Class, see how that works out."

He looked to the sky with a wistful look on his face, as he began making his way back to is refuge within City Z.

"And who knows, maybe I'll find an S Class to test myself against. _Really_ push myself." He said, the thought sending joy throughout his body.

The hunt would continue another day.


	5. Evaluations

**A Hero's True Strength Chapter 5**

In city Z, in the middle of the abandoned ghost town, in an unremarkable looking apartment complex, there was a match for the ages happening. One so intense that the ground around the apartment shook and vibrated from the sheer force coming from the apartment.

Saitama and Earth's Apostle sat across from one another; eyes locked in an intense staring match as the air around them cackled with energy. Nothing was said, the two entities sitting in utter silence as they looked into each other's souls, but despite that the entire area was filled with nothing but noise, noise that would be completely deafening to anyone but the two present.

After several moments of the tangible intensity rising, the silence was finally broken by one of them speaking.

"Gaia." The bald one said calmly.

"Absolutely not." The purple skin humanoid replied, voice just as calm as the bald hero.

The intensity returned, as the two stared at each other, with the bald one looking more serious than he had in any of his fights over the past year and a half.

After another few minutes, the bald man finally relented, leaning back on his arms as he threw his head back.

"Fine, you win. I'll keep calling you Earth's Apostle, or until I think of something else. Or I forget." Saitama finally ceded, with the aforementioned Earth's Apostle smiling smugly at her slight victory.

"With that out of the way, may we please turn our attention to something… more worth my time." Earth's Apostle interjected, catching Saitama's attention as she placed her hands in her lap.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"Since our last encounter, I have been pondering the nature of humans. And to my surprise, your words held wisdom that belies your appearance. Humans are… complicated to say the least. As easily as I could discover humans that upheld my beliefs on how destructive your kind is toward the beautiful Mother Earth, I also found humans who wished to reverse this damage, who campaigned to stop the devastation even when presented with unfavourable odds. The stubborn human spirit could easily be focused for good, which gives credence to the idea that your kind is salvageable."

She paused, taking a sip from her green tea as she focused on the bald man who was paying mild attention to her.

"With that possibility in the back of my mind, I found my thoughts returning to you, and how you seemed to understand humanity in a way that I thought impossible for such a naïve and stubborn species. So tell me, what is it that drives your mind? What is it that allows you to have such a clear retrospective that challenges even my views?"

Saitama puffed his cheeks out, eyes darting upward and head bobbing as he gave it a bit of thought, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Dunno, can't say it makes much sense to me either."

Silence returned between the two, with only the sound of Saitama taking a few noisy sips of his own cup of tea filling the empty space for a few moments, when it was suddenly shattered by Earth's Apostle flinging the table to the side and closing the distance between her and Saitama.

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN?**" She yelled angrily; her face so close to Saitama's that their noses were practically touching. "**YOU SAY YOU LACK WISDOM AFTER CHALLENGING **_**EVERYTHING**_** I'VE EVER BELIEVED! ARE YOU A LIER? OR HAVE I BEEN CONNED BY HUMANITY INTO BELIEVING THERE'S SOME SMALL SHRED OF SOMETHING SALVAGABLE IN YOUR SPECIES? ANSWER ME!**"

Saitama barely blinked, his attention looking over to where Earth's Apostle had thrown the table into the wall and mulled over the two stains of tea that were splattered on his wall.

"That's rather wasteful." He said unhelpfully, causing Earth's Apostle purple skin to darken as her eyes turned bloodshot. But before she could bellow at Saitama again, he turned his attention back to her, and she found herself almost repelled by the more serious look he now possessed.

"But if you must know, it might just be because I believe that there is always some small amount of good in humanity. The tiniest amount which becomes what we know as heroes."

Earth's Apostle backed away a little bit, her temper temporarily restrained as she appraised the Hero, waiting for him to continue.

"Ever since I was a boy, I wanted to be a hero. Someone who was morally better than the rest, and who stood up against monsters for those who couldn't do it themselves. The reasons for each individual hero doing it is different every time, but the common thread is that they are the best examples of humanity. They strive to be better and push themselves in the name of good. They'll even go so far as to sacrifice their own lives for others."

He paused for a moment to stroke his chin, seemingly thinking over his next words. Whatever he was going to say, Earth's Apostle was eagerly waiting to hear, hooked onto every word he sprouted out.

"As for myself, I'm not even sure if I'm the best example of a hero if I'm truly honest. I try to be a good hero, but I do this for fun. I find exhilaration in fighting monsters I guess, which isn't what I'd call the actions of the ideal hero. So maybe you can learn something from me about being a hero, or why humanity is good. I'm not sure; maybe, maybe not. But I do know that whatever it is about humanity that is worth saving, it isn't something that I can put into words."

Earth's Apostle sat silently for a moment, her level face hiding away the storm of thoughts that were flying around her mind as she processed everything she just heard, all of which centred around the bald man.

'What a bizarre example of humanity. What other wonders are hidden away behind this humble façade? Is he the simple soul he presents himself as? Or is something else lurking beneath?'

As she looked over the bald man, who was now picking up the splinters of his now shattered table, a number of explosions in the distance caught both of their attention, the walls slightly shaking.

"Who's causing trouble now?" Saitama mumbled to himself, a small vein throbbing on his forehead. "Guess I should check it out."

* * *

Nyan sweated profusely, multiple droplets of sweat dropping down onto the hard concrete that he was kneeling on.

Multiple eyes were on him, all of them filled with a malicious thirst for blood and pure malice, sitting around on their pedestals leering at him. Each being that was now staring at him were of equal or greater strength, and the fact that any of them could tear him apart without the others batting so much as an eye terrified Nyan.

Sitting around him were the higher ups of the Monster Association: his fellow executives and the two leaders that led them in their goal to wipe out their heroic counterparts; the Hero Association. The other executives were waiting patiently for either of the two leaders to begin their meeting, all awaiting the trial that would determine Nyan's fate after returning from the Subterranean realm with his tail between his legs.

Some were more involved than others, with two of the larger Executive Monsters, Overgrown Rover, a looming dark-furred dog monster with six ruby coloured eyes, and Elder Centipede, a gargantuan bug monster with a dark purple carapace and four glowing eyes, were idling paying attention, curious to see the outcome but otherwise uninvested in Nyan's fate.

Others were chomping at the bit to watch Nyan suffer at the hands of their leaders, such as Evil Natural Water, a sentient mass of water with a pair of eyes residing within and who was openly hoping that Nyan would be fed to it, Fuhrer Ugly, a grotesque looking human with a large pot belly and misshapen teeth, and Gums, a large circular monster with very few discernible features save for its simple limbs and massive mouth and teeth who desired to devour the cat monster much like Evil Natural Water.

The remaining Executives were watching with indifference, present only because it was required from them and due to mild curiosity. Gouketsu, the former martial arts master turned monster, watched with a quiet calm, wondering what circumstance could have led to Nyan's defeat. Black Sperm, the small yet powerful collective of cells, stayed out of sight in the shadow of the larger monsters, eyes darting around assessing the other Executives. And finally, Homeless Emperor, a dishevelled looking human with powers bestowed by a being he could only describe as 'God', who simply glared at the more monstrous members of the Association.

One of the two leaders, Gyoro Gyoro, a physically lacking creature with a round body with multiple limbs, most of which centred around its single large eye but whose true power resided in its Psychokinesis, was looking around at the assembled heroes, as if assessing them and storing the information away somewhere it would be of more use, before clearing its throat and catching the attention of the ensemble of powerful monsters.

"_Thank you all for coming." _He said, using his telepathic powers to project his voice in the large cavern that made up the centre of the Monster Association. _"The Monster King Orochi greatly appreciates your attendance."_

At the mention of his name, the towering monster that ruled over them all began to shift, lowering his head to gaze over his subjects, showcasing his massive head spikes, empty eyes, and rows upon rows of sharp teeth. And with him now looking down at them, the gathered monsters all shifted on the spot, slightly unnerved by the giant dragon-bodied monster.

"_But on to the matter at hand: we have gathered today to assess the performance of one of our own, your fellow Executive Nyan."_

At the mention of his name, Nyan visibly flinched, earning himself a growl from some of the other Executives.

"_Now, for context: Nyan was tasked with dealing with the recently discovered Subterraneans in whatever way he saw fit. To my knowledge, there were two viable outcomes: either they would come join the fold of the Monster Association, more fodder for our ranks, or they would be exterminated, allowing our expansion to continue unimpeded. As per his last report, Nyan had defeated the Subterranean King, their leader and strongest fighter, and given him an ultimatum to either leave, surrender, or perish. And despite that, he has now returned to us with nothing. The Subterranean King still lives, the expansion of our base of operations have been brought to a grinding halt, and we've now lost several useful monsters due to his incompetence."_

Some of the other Executives began booing and shouting, some calling out for blood and punishment, with the others remaining silent, simply observing the cat-like monster steadily. Though the booing was soon brought to a halt by a raised hand from Gyoro Gyoro.

"_Before anything else is said, we will give Nyan a chance to explain himself. So, Nyan, what happened exactly?"_

Nyan thought he was going to be sick, the piercing gazes from all the other monsters making it perfectly clear that there was no way he could bolt and try to escape with his life. He was regretting coming back at all now, but it had been his only choice. It was either face these monsters, or the monster in human form who had handled him so effortlessly.

His only chance of survival was to convince the others that the threat he faced was serious enough to flee.

"Well," Nyan started, his voice sounding scratchy from how dry it was, "I had the Subterranean King beat, without breaking a sweat. Nothing he could have done would beat me or the majority of the monsters who were assigned to that mission. But then the weakling had the nerve to call upon a **human**."

Murmurs began to break out as the Executives began muttering to each other, all mildly surprised by the development. Nyan used this to his advantage and pressed on.

"At first, I wasn't impressed. I mean, a human? Posing a threat? I was almost embarrassed for the pathetic excuse of a king. So I sent some monsters after the human to really instil fear in the heart of the sorry excuse for a monster. But then, to my surprise, the hero executed all three of the monsters I sent after him, each with a SINGLE attack."

This caused more murmurs, with even Gyoro Gyoro expressing a small amount of shock, musing over this new information.

"_Interesting, the monsters that were lost were the Three Tempest Brothers. Individually I'd rank them as Tiger level monsters, but as a trio they easily reach the rank of Demon. I'm shocked that some measly human could dispatch them so easily. Most interesting."_ Gyoro Gyoro commented, sending a small wave of relief through Nyan's body. There was hope for his survival.

"So after they were killed, I attacked myself, wanting to make sure the pest was properly dealt with. But despite using my Feline Retribution, I couldn't even hit him, and then he knocked me back with just a flick."

More boos echoed out, the more mindless monsters all yelling obscenities and declarations of how weak Nyan was with glee. But Gouketsu remained silent, simply glancing up at Orochi, who locked eyes with him. And in the empty orbs that made up the Monster King's eyes, Gouketsu saw the same realisation he just had: Nyan was not weak enough for some random human to flick back. Whoever Nyan was facing was no joke.

"When I got back on my feet, I went to attack again, this time going all out. I was gonna **slaughter **that human where he stood for his insolence. Which was when he… punched me."

"_And then?" _Gyoro Gyoro pushed.

"And then I woke up a few miles away, embedded in the walls and in more pain than I had ever felt. If he had hit me even slightly harder, I would surely have died."

Gyoro Gyoro considered this, evaluating Nyan's story intensively, but before he could come to a conclusion, Nyan spoke again.

"But that was not the worse of it." He started, hooking the telepath's attention. "No, the worst part was the fact that the punch I received, the one that knocked me several miles back and brought me to the verge of death, was… a warning."

This time there was no booing, no mocking; just silence. Shocked silence as the monsters digested this.

"_A warning?"_ Gyoro Gyoro asked in shock, leaning forward slightly.

"Yes. He said that if we try to attack the Subterraneans again, we'll get punched."

Dead silence reigned after this final word, the monsters considering this new threat with mild interest. Most of the gathered monsters had massive egos, confident in their own strength. But even despite that, something deep within them was unsettled by Nyan's story.

Unsettled, and deeply intrigued.

Gyoro Gyoro spoke again, this time with renewed purpose.

"_This… hero. What did he look like?"_

"He wore a jumpsuit, with massive gloves on his fist. And a cape. Other than that, he looked like any other human trash." Nyan hastily explained, still very aware of the fact that Orochi hadn't visibly reacted yet.

Though his description was enough to entice an angry response from one of the Executives, who began scuttling around, rising up above the gathered monsters with fiery eyes and endless rage.

"**BLAST!"** Elder Centipede yelled, before switching its gaze to the tunnel that would lead to the Subterranean kingdom and began making its way to the tunnel.

But before it could cross the room, it was slammed into the wall, Orochi pinning it in place without any trace of emotion in his face, almost knocking the monstrous bug out immediately.

With Elder Centipede reigned in, Gyoro Gyoro spoke again.

"_With the information at hand, we have cause to believe that our operation is under threat from a powerful being. Whether or not this being is indeed the hero Blast is undetermined, but regardless, this human is not to be underestimated. For now, Nyan can keep his life. We'll try to find out who this human is, and whether or not they're affiliated with the Hero Association. If it is Blast, we will eliminate him. If it is another hero, we will eliminate them. And if they're an unaffiliated human, then we will try to procure their strength for our ranks."_

Nyan sighed in relief, especially since none on the presence monsters dared challenge them, especially after Orochi's show of force. Even Elder Centipede seemed subdued, though hatred seeped from it in an almost tangible form. All except for Gouketsu, who spoke up with a question.

"What of the Subterraneans?"

"_For now, we'll tolerate their existence. If this human will fight for them, challenging them without finding out more about this human will be folly. So we'll be patient, and once we know what we're dealing with, we'll wipe them and their human ally from the face of the Earth." _Gyoro Gyoro said with a scary amount of detachment, before casually moving on.

"_Now, since that has been resolved, we'll adjourn this meeting after a quick update on progress. Barring the discussed halt, the expansion of our base is meeting the projected time frame. Our numbers are raising exponentially, and we'll soon have enough numbers to wash over the Hero Association. And the recently discovered group known as the House of Evolution is currently being investigated. One of their agents, known as 'Mosquito Girl', is currently being tracked by Jumping Spider, who will be tortured for information and eliminated. From there, we'll be able to deal with this rival organisation appropriate. And then, __**nothing**__ will be able to stop us."_

* * *

Mosquito girl was flying around giddily, hyperactive due to the newfound freedom.

The House of Evolution had allowed her to explore the outside world, with the only restriction being that she test her limits, allowing them to review her performance once she returned. Something she was more than happy to do.

So here she was, flying around with a swarm of mosquitos gathering blood for her at this very moment. Once she had that blood, she'll be more powerful than ever, maybe even as powerful as the dreaded Carnage Kabuto.

Yeah, not likely.

Even though she doubted she could match the strength of that monster, the freedom was still great. Especially since she could feast on as much blood as she desired.

Speaking of which, another small swarm of mosquitos was now flying toward her, all carrying blood for her to feast on.

As they dropped off the blood into her body, which pulsed in her body as her strength multiplied. The sensation was almost orgasmic, the blood of random wildlife creatures being so much more succulent than the artificial blood provided to her within the House of Evolution labs.

Which was why the disappointment was palpable when the sensation stopped, signalling that the swarm had ran out of blood for her.

"Come now darlings, that isn't nearly enough blood. Go get more for your mistress." She commanded, before a prickling sensation ran down her neck, alerting her to a threat.

Turning in mid-air, she was just able to see and dodge out of the way of a string of web which had been shot at her, which stuck itself to a building instead. Looking at its source, Mosquito girl was shocked to see another monster, which was staring at her with a hateful gaze.

The monster had the upper half of a human, looking surprisingly normal considering its bottom half. Which was a giant spider body. A giant spider body with a human's upper body just attached to it.

The moment of confusion was all the spider needed, as it uprooted a nearby lamppost and threw it with immense speed, nearly impaling her.

Hissing at her attacker, Mosquito girl swung her twin hooks out, issuing an unspoken challenge to the monster. With a screeching battle cry, she flew in, using her speed to close the distance quickly.

While this was happening, a lone figure was watching the fight unfurl with a critical eye.

"Target: identified. Currently engaged with another monster. Preparing to engage and eliminate both."

* * *

Saitama and Earth's Apostle walked around the empty town aimlessly, looking for the source of the explosions but finding nothing. Frustrated, Saitama grumbled about how he could have been using this time to find a replacement table, while Earth's Apostle just watched him intently.

While they walked around aimlessly, more explosions suddenly sounded out, shaking the glass windows of the empty buildings and threatening to shatter them.

The two powerful creatures turned their heads toward the origin of the sound, and were both shocked to see a massive fight breaking out in the distance, a giant spider relentless chasing down what looked like a girl with wings who was fleeing for her life, seemingly missing one of her limbs and leaving a trail of blood in her wake, fear plastered all over her face.

Earth's Apostle frowned at this, her body tensing up as she watched the two creatures in the distance, and bile building up in her mouth.

"Foul monsters, they're almost as bad as humans. It'd be a personal pleasure to wipe those disgusting creatures from the face of Mother Earth." She spat, though before she could follow through on her threat, she noticed Saitama, who was glaring at the monsters with a surprising intensity, his fist clenching as he walked forward toward the creatures.

"I'll deal with this monster." Saitama said, leaving no room for Earth's Apostle to argue back as his leather gloves crinkled in response to being clenched so tightly. So she said nothing, instead choosing to watch the human in action.

The two monsters bolted toward Saitama, one out of desperation and the other out of sheer hatred, and both completely unaware of the human, who was in the midst of lining up a single punch.

"Normal Punch." He said monotonously, before thrusting his fist forward.

And proceeding to destroy everything in front of him.

Hitting the spider monster first, the punch obliterated it entirely, leaving nothing but a bloody mist in its place. And then every building behind it was torn apart, leaving nothing but dust and rubble as they were torn asunder.

Mosquito girl, having been spared from being hit by the punch's shockwave, simply dropped to the ground, landing in a heap and crashing to a halt at Saitama's feet. Which allowed the said hero to get a good look at the injured monster at his feet.

"Oh hey, you're a mosquito." He said with mild surprise, his fist still raised up and ready to punch again. Something which made Mosquito girl stare up at him in horror. "I don't like mosquitos, they suck. Oh well, I guess I should let you off with a warning, since you weren't the one causing trouble. Don't be getting into any fights, and if you encounter a monster, just call for a hero."

With his PSA done, Saitama began walking off, his hands patting his pockets in search of his wallet, unaware of the two pairs of eyes now glued to him. One was looking at him as if he had just shown her the light, eyes sparkling with appreciation and gratitude at the mercy that had been shown to her. And the other was staring in abstract shock, both at how the hero had reacted to the two monsters, and the absolute **power** he had been hiding away from them.

'What kind of human possesses that type of strength while still retaining the better qualities of their kind?'

* * *

Hey everyone, TWoS here with another chapter for this story.

I don't normally do author notes for this story, but I felt it was necessary this time given the circumstances. It's been a while since I've updated anything on any of my stories, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but given the state of the world right now, some might be quite worried about that. Especially if the PMs are any indication (which I appreciate by the way).

So, just to let you all know, I'm fine. Busy. Very busy. But fine. So there's no need to worry about me, I've just been focusing on other things. I'll be uploading a few chapters on my various stories, so you'll be seeing a decent amount of me in the near future. Thank you all for the concern though, I really appreciate it.

On a different note, new chapter for A Hero's True Strength. Things are really developing now, as Saitama has now spared another monster, although he hasn't really realised they're a monster yet, and the first monster he's spared is now beginning to understand Saitama. Or starting to, it's a long journey.

If you guys could leave me a review for this chapter to let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it. The feedback is very helpful and I honestly just enjoy reading what you think. So I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

That's all from me this time, much love, peace – TWoS.


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